InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "COOTIES!!!"

Eleanor Justine Baines (ihatevan) wrote in genome_project,
@ 2011-06-23 11:09:00

Entry tags:

june 2011, noelle baines

Who: Noelle and Adam
What: Drinkin' and griping (and worrying)
When: Backdated to Wednesday evening
Rating: PG-13+ For drinking and language
Status: Incomplete

Noelle had always been something of a worry wart. It came with the territory. Being an older sibling did that to some people. She had thought of Penny as an extra younger sister (as if she needed more) ever since she had set foot in the newspaper office and with her in the hospital since the wedding, Noelle had been in full worry mode. She needed to get her mind off of it. Worrying didn't get anything done and it didn't feel especially good.

Anyway, it had been a while since she had been out and a good drink was always a good mind eraser. It was strange to be out without without her sister, but as much as she loved Cait, it was also oddly freeing. She settled into a barstool and ordered a long island ice tea. She needed something with a punch and she figured that would just about do it.

Once her drink was set in front of her, she took a deep drink and glanced around the bar. It was slow. But it was also Wednesday. It was to be expected. What she didn't expect was for someone quite familiar to come in moments later and take a seat nearby. Unexpected, but a distraction all the same.

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stillcharged
2011-06-23 08:37 pm UTC (link)

Adam had decided it was time for a drink, knowing it was one of the best methods to revive his synapses, many of which he was certain had slipped into a temporary coma from lack of stimulation. No wonder. For the last week through work, he had largely been resigned to staying at his desk. It wasn't even from the lack of any incident, since he'd heard someone's kid was currently missing, an actual case at hand and one he yearned to get behind - but far from being allowed to help, he was still lumped with filing MIP forms all afternoon. With his first assessment only a matter of weeks away, he was unusually cautious of making too much of a stir, and had miraculously managed to keep his disappointment in check.

What better place than here to inject some life into the evening before returning to his empty home. That was his thought as dropped into one of the seats, and placed his hands flat on the wooden bar top, his arms locked straight as he leaned back slightly and looked toward the server. It was then he saw who was nursing a drink nearby. At the sight, he became very aware of Noelle's presence barely an arm's length to his left, in a way that was unexplainable, and one which he steadily ignored. He openly regarded her for a moment, before speaking up.

"Why am I starting to feel like I'm being shadowed," said with the underlying tone that came with hoping he wasn't about to be interrogated about work, a tone somewhere between low-lying suspicion and light exhaustion, but none of it with any real malice.

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ihatevan
2011-06-24 12:35 am UTC (link)

Malice or not, it was in her nature to be confrontational and just a little defensive. Noelle quirked an eyebrow at him and looked him over with the frown of someone who's just discovered something unpleasant. Not that she wasn't enjoying the once-over. She'd known Adam since high school, and was not opposed to his face or physique.

But she also didn't approve of being accused of following around when she had most certainly not... Oh, alright, perhaps she had, but only for the sake of possibly hearing something that might make a better story than parking tickets. Not that she'd gotten anything good out of him yet anyway. "No, unfortunately, you haven't proven to be interesting enough for me to shadow you any further," she replied, with just a hint of sharpness to her tone. She turned back to face the wall of bottles in front of her, and took a deep gulp of her drink.

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stillcharged
2011-06-24 03:20 pm UTC (link)

"Huh. Well, I guess you lost out on the fascinating cat-stuck-in-a-tailpipe incident we had going on earlier today." Lies. All lies. Nothing nearly that exciting had happened to him for days. But disguising this fact under the pretense of light sarcasm felt better than admitting the truth of it. The truth that he was more in danger of getting a papercut than a decent case.

He relaxed his arms, sliding his elbows down onto the bar top. Something told him that Noelle really wasn't intent on grilling him about whose cars were the latest to be towed off as wreckage; call it experience, or maybe just the way she appeared to be more focused on downing a gulp like a seasoned sailor. For someone who could throw back a line of vodka shots without so much as blinking, he had to admit he was almost impressed at that.

"They give you more than a minute to finish your drink here, you know."

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ihatevan
2011-06-24 04:02 pm UTC (link)

While in possession of many skills, being a human lie detector was not in Noelle's bag o'tricks. She did have a relatively good sarcasm radar however, and it was blinking wildly. And really, it was nearly the same thing. "The--Oh." She frowned again with a haughty sniff. She hadn't met a cat dumb enough to get caught in a tailpipe anyway. A squirrel perhaps, but not a cat. But still, the mental image brought a shadow of a smile to the corners of her lips.

She had just taken another sailor-worthy-swig from her glass when he made his comment. For a moment she blushed and was just a wee bit flustered. But the wide-eyed look she gave him quickly narrowed into a glare, "I know that. I'm just," she paused, trying to think of a good reason to be drinking like she was without giving him the satisfaction of knowing her emotional status, "Thirsty." She finished. "But I also think the point is to have a drink in the first place." She glanced meaningfully at the empty counter-top in front of him.

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stillcharged
2011-06-24 04:57 pm UTC (link)

Thirsty, yeah. He'd guessed that when she'd managed to consume such a deep sip in less than two point three seconds. But, he briefly tipped his head to her, having to agree with the point of drink in the first place. The empty space in front of him, brought into ever increasing focus now that she'd pointed it out, was starting to get to him. Drawing his eyes away from the investigative bane of his life, he put them to better use attempting to locate the bartender. Hell of a time to leave them withou-

- ah, no, he was still there, and when he turned around to look at them, Adam sent him the glint of a smile, the charm of which often went miles on a good day. The reaction he received was one of equal familiarity, and in turn he greeted the bartender by his first name.

"I'm good for the usual," Adam declared, his gaze on the other man who turned to lift one of the glasses stacked behind the bar. Flicking his eyes back to Noelle, there was a moment of consideration in them, before he leaned over slightly to add, "And see if the little princess here wants a top up. As long as she's drinking, she's not talking. Trust me, that's a winning formula right there."

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ihatevan
2011-06-24 06:03 pm UTC (link)

Noelle's ear's perked up as Adam addressed the bartender. She slid her half empty glass in the direction of the bartender, as an indication that he could refill it if he so chose, but also gave him a dark look to make sure he didn't agree with that statement, or else.

The plan to keep her quiet was doomed to backfire. Not just because she was aware of it, but also because her drink was just out of her grasp for the moment. And she was stubborn and determined to annoy Adam as much as he was annoying her. "I hadn't realized we'd reached the point in our relationship where we give each other pet names." She smirked, turning a bit on her bar stool to face him once more, "And now I feel terrible for not having one for you."

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stillcharged
2011-06-24 07:29 pm UTC (link)

The bartender obliged and set about filling one glass and topping up the second, entirely too well-trained for his mouth to crack into a smile. He obviously knew better than to laugh in the face of someone who looked like they wouldn't hesitate to bean him around the head with a shoe.

Adam, on the other hand...

"Pet names?" he exclaimed, as if she had just cruelly accused him of calling her his pookie snuggle bear, or some such. "I was only stating a fact. But, if it makes you feel better, I guess you could call me demi-god, if you wanted. No one's ever called me that," he said with a level of muted amusement at the look she gave him. "Might enjoy it."

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ihatevan
2011-06-24 08:51 pm UTC (link)

Smart bartender. Once her drink was topped off again, Noelle set about drinking it at a much more subdued pace. Just because she could drink like a man didn't mean she should. And she still had nothing on her sister, Cait. She gave a nod of thanks to the bartender, though whether she was thanking him for the refill, or for not encouraging her irritant.

Noelle snorted at his reaction. "What? Not Hercules? Perseus? Why stop at demi-god when you could be Zeus, or Ares? Thor even!" She could help but crack a small smirk as she egged him on, "Don't look now, but I think your ego is showing."

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stillcharged
2011-06-24 11:08 pm UTC (link)

Only glancing away to give a brief nod of thanks to the bartender who'd returned with his drink, a 'usual' that turned out to be nothing more extravagant than beer, the corner of Adam's lips curled a little higher, less of a smirk and a dash more of a smile, especially at the mention of Thor.

"I'll suggest the hammer-and-tunic look to my sergeant next time she stalks into the office. See how long it takes for that another one's gone crazy look to reach her eyes."

As he reached for his beer, if his experience hadn't told him otherwise, he might've thought Noelle wasn't half-bad when she wasn't asking too many questions - those questions which had always been all the more irritating for him when his dismissals were because there really wasn't anything to tell, rather than any need for confidentiality. If it came down to it, he couldn't promise himself that he'd be able to resist dangling a snippet of an intriguing case in front of her, even if he'd regret it later. The idea of it felt like the secret kind of pleasure that came with pushing a bruise.

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ihatevan
2011-06-25 03:04 am UTC (link)

Though not expecting it, she caught his smile. He had a rather charming smile. It softened her a little, and the hint of a smile of her own flashed in her eyes for a moment. She took another sip of her drink and decided that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to be just a little nicer. Until he gave her reason again not to be, of course.

Noelle set her elbow on the counter and rested her chin on top of a closed fist, "Maybe I can write an editorial piece on how much more formidable law enforcement figures seemed when they wore leather armor and carried swords." She spoke quite seriously, and with conviction, but the smirk that played at her lips suggested otherwise, "Perhaps that will convince her." Or maybe she'd lock them both up in the nut house and let Dr. Evans pick at their brains. Either way.

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stillcharged
2011-06-26 07:55 pm UTC (link)

The look Adam gave her because of the almost-insult to his formidable law enforcement demeanor held just as much conviction, but also the same absence of any real spite.

"Careful, you. I've been known to whip out the handcuffs to prove a point," he intoned, watching her over the top of his glass as he tipped it back.

Knowing his beer was going to be one of only a few that evening, he savored it in the manner he usually did whenever he had to work the next day. Getting drunk always felt worse at six-thirty the next morning when he had to roll out of bed and combat the raging headache long enough to painfully drag himself out the door.

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Sorry sorry sorry for being gone! :(

ihatevan
2011-07-01 04:06 pm UTC (link)

Handcuffs, eh? Noelle's eyes went wide with amusement for a moment. She was starting to enjoy this verbal sparring game they were playing. But then again, good looking guys who were witty enough to play along with her were always a source of amusement.

"And pray tell, what do you do once you bring out the handcuffs?" She asked as she steepled her fingers and pressed them to her lips to conceal the smirk that had begun to form there.

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No worries! :)

stillcharged
2011-07-01 09:05 pm UTC (link)

"Now that's on a strictly need-to-know basis," he informed her, lifting a single fingertip from his glass to point in her direction. "But whatever it is, I can be much more creative with them than I would be with a hammer and tunic."

He avoided all thoughts of what Patrick would say to him about blatant misuse of police equipment. But with lines like that, he was kind of running the same risk with Noelle any way. At least she was turning out to have more of a life about her when it came to keeping up a bantering pace.

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Re: No worries! :)

ihatevan
2011-07-07 08:19 pm UTC (link)

Her eyes narrowed as she pursed her lips in frustration. Never mind that she suddenly felt the need-to-know. She didn't mention it. It obviously wasn't what he meant. "I'm sure there are plenty of creative things to be done with a hammer and tunic." Noelle shrugged, "You just have to use your imagination."

Adam could rest easy, since Noelle had no thoughts of reporting him to Patrick anyway. Perhaps it was because she was curious if he really did bring out the handcuffs on a regular basis. Perhaps not. She hadn't decided yet.

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